Former Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal has come hard on the club’s chief Ed Woodward over his role in the appointment of Jose Mourinho as Red Devils manager.
Van Gaal managed United for two seasons between 2014 and 2016, taking the team to fourth and fifth in the table and winning the FA Cup in his final game.
He received plenty of criticism during his time at the club but has now come out to defend himself in a German magazine.
The Dutchman believes that his former club have struggled since they replaced him with Jose Mourinho for ‘business’ reasons.
He said: ‘At Bayern, the people in charge are football men. I always appreciated that.
‘At Manchester United, on the other hand, Ed Woodward was installed as CEO — somebody with zero understanding of football who was previously an investment banker.
‘It cannot be a good thing when a club is run solely from a commercially-driven perspective.’
‘I don’t hold it against the club. They wanted Mourinho and he was on the market.’
‘But appointing Mourinho was obviously interesting from a business point of view.’
He explained: ‘He wins games. And for a club like United, the main thing is to win trophies.
‘How they are won isn’t the main priority, the English fans see it differently.
‘They accept that the game is not all about attacking but it is also about defending.
‘I always tried to defend high up the pitch, to be in the opposition’s half and play the game there.’
Photo Credit: Sky Sports
